Have you noticed that older model Buicks are dangerous? Well, the Le Sabres, Park Avenues, and Centurys aren’t dangerous, it’s the people that drive them. It’s typically a grandma who can’t see over the dashboard, even while sitting on 10 phone books. Or it’s a grandpa who thinks he has the right of way, regardless of the turning lane, speed limit, or any signs or markings.

Or it’s the person that buys these cars after the family takes the keys away from granny and gramps. The cars are beat up, but affordable. They are basically tanks on rubber tires – pretty much invincible, so it’s best to give them wide berth.

You will now notice every older Buick on the road and think; I believe I’ve been duly warned.
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There is a video going around on the price of a Coke. It costs $1 in the grocery store, $3 in the vending machine, and $7 at an arena or nice hotel. The can of Coke is the same. Same ingredients, same can, same labeling, the only difference is the location.

My takeaway is that your worth is the same regardless where you are located. Don’t let the environment or those around you ascertain your worth. You’re the same, the only thing that changes is who you are hanging with or the atmosphere that wants you to look or be different. You’re a person of great worth. You’re basically a stadium Coke!

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I’m not sure where I heard this quote – “Grief is love with nowhere to go.”

It’s true and not true. As with most things, grief is more complex than a simple statement. Yes, we miss the person we have loved. They are no longer physically next to us, so our grief can’t touch the person we miss. But memories bring a laugh or a tear or a day on the couch. To me, that’s a place where we attach our love – in remembrances. I don’t love the people less; I just mourn they aren’t here.

It’s also important to understand people grieve differently and the griever gets to set the timeline. Grief is a process and it often differs with who dies. The grief for a 90-year-old is different than a 9-year-old. Losing a spouse is different than the death of someone that briefly dropped through our life.

Our love in grief has a place to go, it just looks different.

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My grandson is hilarious. I wish I would have written down all the things he has said. Here is a smattering of my grandson-isms.

• “That’s really bland, grandpa. It’s basically rice without anything else to eat with it.”
• “My sister has trouble finding things, like respect for my parents.”
• Me: “They say milk helps with recovery.”
  G: “What kind of milk? Chocolate milk? Goat milk? Platypus milk?”
• “Mondays basically suck. And Tuesdays are Mondays 2.0.”
• There was a long line of cars at a stop sign. Some of the cars left a lot of space between them and the car in front of them. “I guess they think those cars have COVID.”